Sunday, April 16, 2017

Giants Can't Resurrect Bats

Starting pitcher:
M.C. O'Connor

COL 4 SF 3
The good news is Jeff Samardzija threw five scoreless innings. The bad news is that came after four runs allowed in the first two innings. Still and all, seven innings and four runs is a winnable start, and the Giants had plenty of chances but preferred to hit a double or triple when a homer would have been better, a sacrifice fly when an extra-base hit would have been better, and a weak grounder when a sacrifice fly would have been better. They say timing is everything. Giants batters look like their timing is off, in fact, they look off in general, it's not a lineup that's inspired confidence so far. The situational hitting in the 7th inning was particularly atrocious, but it's a team-wide offensive failure and not entirely due to good pitching from the other guys, yesterday notwithstanding. I suppose getting Buster Posey back ought to help, assuming he's healthy, but there's just not enough thump here in the early going.

Giants get no help from the Holy Spirit on Easter Sunday and the Rockies take three of four in San Francisco. Off-days both tomorrow and Thursday with two in Kansas City in between. Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner get the nods at 5:15 Pacific. The Royals started 0-3 and 2-6 but are back to even with four wins in a row.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

p.s. Once-vaunted Giants prospect Clayton Blackburn was traded to Texas for a 21-year old switch-hitting middle infielder named Frandy De La Rosa (and cash). Blackburn signed with the Giants right out of high school in 2011, he's 24 and has never appeared in the majors despite being briefly on the roster last May. De La Rosa was in the high-A Carolina League, he'll probably be assigned to San Jose.

6 comments:

Zo
said...

To the extent that the early season forecasts races, this doesn't bode well. The Giants now have a losing record against every team in the NL West that we've played, and we have yet to play the one team that we were supposed to challenge for the division crown. Maybe this is what this team needs. Maybe they need to realize that an appearance in the playoffs is not a given, that they need to start seriously chalking up a few W's before they are in a hole they can't climb out of. We'll get our chance soon enough. After KC comes Colorado in their house, then 2 series against LA and 1 against San Diego in SF with Cincinnati mixed in somewhere.

Even the best offenses suffer when their best cleanup hitter is out of the lineup. And even without that, too early in the season to be saying things don't bode well or that they bode well, see what Brother Bob noted. As you all report every year, the first inning isn't even over yet, and we would still have 8 more innings to go.

If anything, I'm excited by Arroyo's early going, obviously won't do that over a full season but if he can keep it that hot into mid-May, and the LF continue to struggle, I can see the Giants promoting him to start at 3B while Nunez moves to LF or even super-utility, and stealing a start from many infield positions, as well as LF, to provide regular rest as well as give him regular starts.

the bad part of this losing spree is that it is against our own division, and against the teams we are supposed to be better than. It is also bad that we have a losing record at home. 5 wins, and 9 losses vs. Ariz. Colorado, and San Diego. They better turn things around fast. Where is Angel Pagan when we need him. I mean now that Parker is hurt, as is Williamson.